Health Reform Central

Americans are in the midst of a frightening economic crisis – one whose effects could spell catastrophe for a huge segment of the population. As unemployment rises, so does the percentage of the population that faces the prospect of not being able to afford quality health insurance coverage.

As a result, the American people are increasingly raising the cry for reform of nation’s ailing health care system. Fortunately, President Barack Obama has joined with like-minded legislators to make health reform one of the administration’s top priorities. It appear, for now at least, that health reform measures could be enacted in Congress this year.

What is President Obama’s administration proposing? And what are the dozens of health reform advocacy organizations endorsing? Health Reform Central is your primer on health reform. We’ll monitor the progress of legislation, explore some of the reform proposals on the table and provide the resources you need to raise your own voice in the health reform movement.

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Health reform resources

On the Hill

Weekly video updates from the Office of Health Reform

U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Schedule

In the media

Read the latest stories about health reform, from national proposals to updates on efforts at the state level.

Health Reform for Beginners
(Ezra Klein, The Washington Post)

Across the country

Meet some of the many advocacy groups working for state and national reform.

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The crisis

The case for reform

The Case for Health Reform
(Center for American Progress)

Health Reform: The Cost of Failure audio recording and full report (PDF).
(Urban Institute)

The Economic Case for Health Reform.
(White House Council of Economic Advisers)

The Case for Health Reform: The Moral, Economic & Quality Motives for Action video intro and full text of the report.
(New America Foundation)

Interactive Map: Dramatic Increase in the Uninsured Rate in Every State (Center for American Progress)

Who's insured? Who's not? A map
(The New York Times)

Consumer voices

Americans Talk About Health Care
(U.S. Office of Health Reform)

Health Care Stories for America
(Organizing for America) – Stories from thousands of ordinary Americans who have watched their premiums rise faster than wages, and spiraling costs shackle American businesses – put a personal touch on the health care crisis.

Recommended reading

Hard Times in the Heartland
(U.S. Office of Health Reform)

Sick: The Untold Story of America's Health Care Crisis – and the People Who Pay the Price
(Jonathan Cohn)

Critical: What We Can Do about the Health-Care Crisis
(Tom Daschle)

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Proposed solutions

In Congress

President Barack Obama's 2010 budget and health reform plans.

The Affordable Health Choices Act, a reform plan drafted by Senator Edward Kennedy

Description of Policy Options: Transforming the Health Care Delivery System – Proposals to Improve Patient Care and Reduce Health Care Costs
(Reform recommendations proposed by Sen. Max Baucus and Sen. Charles Grassley)

Legislation authored by Senator Max Baucus

Bi-partisan legislation focused on the needs of small businesses

Public Plan

Pros And Cons Of A Public Insurance Plan
(Health Affairs Blog)

A Modest Proposal for a Competing Public Health Plan (policy paper)
(New America Foundation)

The Public-Plan Option: A Roundtable With Stuart Butler, Jacob Hacker, and Len Nichols
(Health Affairs)

Ask the Expert: How to Build an Effective Public Health Insurance Plan
(Center for American Progress)

The Case For Public Plan Choice In National Health Reform
(Berkeley Law Center on Health, Economic, and Family Security)

Insurance exchange

New Health Insurance Marketplace: Who Should Represent You?
(New America Foundation)

Health Insurance Exchanges: The Most Important, Undernoticed Part of Health Reform
(The Washington Post)

Health Insurance Exchanges Offer Consumers New Options
(HispanicBusiness.com)

Single-Payer

Single-Payer Resources
(Physicians for a National Health Program)

Health Reform for Beginners: The Difference Between Socialized Medicine, Single-Payer Health Care, and What We'll Be Getting
(Ezra Klein, Washington Post)

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